Speedometer.



J. WHITCOMB.

SPEEDOMETER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 15, 1913.

'Patented Mar. 24, 1914 2 SEEETS-8EEET 1.

Wi/Mmooeo J. 'WHITOOMB.

SE'EEDOMETER.

- APPLIGATION FILED MAY 15, 1913. 1,091,41 O. Patented Mar 24, 1914b 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

avwemtoz a citizen of the United UNITED s ra rns P ignnr esteem.

JAMES WHI'ICOMB, 0F HILLSIJALE, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR 0Z6 ONEQEIALF T0 0. KAPP, OF MANCHESCQER, MIGHIGAN.

srnnnoivrnrna.

To all "(D/HUM it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES iS'HrrooMn,

residing at Hillsdale, in the county of Hillsdale and State of Michigan, have invented new and useful Improvements in Speedometers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements inspeedometcrs and has particularapplication to a combined speed indicator and register.

In carrying out the present invention, it is my purpose to provide a device of the class described which willbe found especially useful on motor vehicles and the like and which will be driven from one of the ground wheels of the vehicle and whereby the speed or mileage per hour at which the vehicle is traveling, the number of miles the vehicle has traveled during the particle lar trip and the total number of miles that the vehicle has traveled since a predetermined time may be readily and conveniently ascertained. v

It is also my purpose to provide a speedometer which will embody in its .construction among other features a main shaft con nected with one of the drive wheels of the vehicle and driven therefrom ata predetermined speed and in proportion to thediameter of the wheel, such shaft being con nected up with the registering and indicating devices so as to actuate the latter in order that said devices will function properly and enable a correct reading to be ascertained at any time.

lVith the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction,

combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter set forth in and falling within the scope of the claims. I

In the accompanying drawings: Figure I is a view in front elevation of a speedonr eter constructed in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the mechanism of the device, the cover of the casing being shown in section. Fig. 3 is.

a front elevation of the mechanism of the device, the cover of the casing being re moved. Fig. 4: is a transverse sectional view on the line 4-4- of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 5 is a like view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 6 is a fragmem States of America,

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed May 15, 19-13.

the arrow.

the present instance,

ing.

Patented Mar.

Serial no. 767,939.

tary sectional view through. the trip register. 1: 7 is a Sectional view on the line 7 or F 1g. 2 .tOOlilTlg 111 the direction of The mechanism of eter 1s inclosed in a.

my ii'npro ved spcedoi'n- I, casing compr sing, in the present instance, a back nla l signed to be secured, in some )lOiT;

manner, to the dash board of a motor vido and formed with a marginal tlauec and a cover having the edge thereof heat ed upon the flange 2, the cover and back plate being fastened together by any suitable means, or in any preferred manhcr;

Pro ecting outwardly from the back nlate l and extending into the casing are bi ets i, 'disposed in proximity to the opposite end of the back plate and carrving t their free extremities alining bearings 11 which is journaled a mainshaft 5 hiivin'e' one end passed through an aperture in thii cover of the casing and connected up with on: oi the ground wheels ofthe vehicle.

he total register device comprises, in four register wheels 6 having the peripheries thereof pronerlr marked off and visible through a sightwin dew 7 formed in the front wall of the can- These register wheels are mounted upon a shaft 8 journaled in alining ings carried by the free extremities of one of the end brackets 41 and a bracket-9 e: tending outwardly from the back plate and into the casing. The shaft 8 is preferahlv disposed in parallelism with the main shaft n? 5 andis driven from the latter shaft through a reducing gear systemcomposed, in the present embodiment of my invention, of ii: worm 1O fixed to the main shaft and mesh-- mg with a worm wheel 11 keyed upon a stub shaft 12 jo'urnaled in alined bearings carried by a bracket 13 extending outwardly from the back plate and into the casing in plane below the main shaft, the stub shaft being arranged at rightangles to the main. ion shaft. Fi-Xed to the stub shaft is a worn l4 meshing with a worm wheel 15 surround mg the shaft 8 and equipped With acollar 16 disposed concentrically of the shaft and suitably connected with the first or units H wheel 6. It will, of course, be understood that the register wheels 6 are connected .to. one another for progressive movement in any desired manner so that when the first or units wheel has made one complete. revo- In the present instance, the trip register device'comprises a single Wheel 17 having the periphery thereof suitably marked ell and visible through a sight Window: 18. .iorrned in the front Wall of the casing. This wheel 17 loosely surrounds the shaft- 8 and has one face thereof contacting; with the free face of the Worm Wheel. 18 and held in engagement therewith through the medium ofa coiled expansion spring 18 loosely sur rounding the shaft 8 and having one end bearing upon the hub of the Wheel. 17 and the opposite end abutting a collar 19 surroundin the shaft 8 and fast thereon by means 0 a set screw .20. ln-the form of my invention selected for illustrative purposes, the face-of the Worm Wheel 15 in contact with the adjacent face of the register Wheel 17 is formed with an annular row of depressions 21 suitably spaced. apart and designed to receive a pin 22 carried by the confronting-face of the register wheel.

The speed indicating device for showing the speed, in miles per hour, at which the vehicle is moving, consists of a disk 23 suitably secured upon one end of a sleeve 241. ro tat-ably mounted upon a stud 25 carried by the bearing on the free end of the bracket 9 and. disposed in a plane above and at right angles to the adjacent end ofitheshaft 8.

The front face of this disk is suitahly graduated or marked off anddisposed in a plane parallel Withthe front Wall of the cas-.

"ing, the graduations on'the disk beingvisible through a sight Window 26 formed in the front wall of the casing. Fixedto the shaft 5 approximately centrally thereof is a collar 27 provided at diametrically opposite points with outwardly projecting curved arms 28, 28, ,While'hell crank levers29, 29 areeach pivoted at its bight to the free end or one of the arms 28, as at 30, such levers having the free extremities of the inner limbs thereof.

disposed within a groove, 81 formed in one end of a sleeve 32 loosely surrounding the main shaft in proximity to the collar 2?. The free ends of the outer limbs of the bell crank levels 29 carry balls, 33 or other forms of Weights which, in the rotation 01'' the main shaft, tend to swing outwardly under themtion of centrifugal force and so slide the sleeve 32 along the main shaft, a contractile spring 84 being connected to the outer limbs of the bell crank levers to hold the letter at th sir limit of inward movement. ll ul crinned at one end between pivot ears extendingoutvvardly from the back plate 1 is" a lever 36 terminating inproxiinity to the front Wall of the casing and pivotally con nected, as at 34, With one end of a rack bar 38 having the teeth thereofnicshing With a pinion 39 fixed upon the inner end of the sleeve 2 carrying the disk 23. The free end of the sleeve 32- surrounding the main shaft is pivotally connected at .Mlwith the lever 36 so as to swing the latter about its fulcrum when the governor arms swing outwardly under the action oi centrifugal force.

From the foregoing description taken in connection With the accompanying drawlugs, the construction, mode of operation and manner of employing my invention Will be readily apparent. In this instance, the speed of the main shaft 5 is intended to be approximately five hundred revolutions for each mile of travel of the machine in which.

the speedometer in installed, although it depends entirely upon the size of the Wheel, What the driving connection between the shaft and Wheel Will be to produce this ratio, while the shaft 8 moves through one-tenth of a revolution to every five hundred revolutions oithe rnain shaft. In other Words; every mile of travel of the vehicle will cause the shaft 8 to rotate through one hundred and thirty-six degrees. Thus, each revolution of the shaft 8 corresponds to one mile of travel. For this reason, the periphery of each register disk is divided or graduated into ten equal parts each representing one mile of travel. As the main shaft 5 rotates incident to the travel of the vehicle, the levers 29 swing about the pivot points 30 under the action of the weights due to centrifugal force, and so slide the sleeve 32 along the main shaft with the result that the disk 23 is rotated through the medium of the lever 38, rack bar 38 and pinion 39. The disk 23 rotates until the number thereon corresponding to the speed of the vehicle registers With an indicating mark in the window 26. Thus, the speed, in miles per hour, at which the vehicle is moving may be readily determined. Motion is transmitted from the main shaft to the shaft 8 through the step down gear system hereinhetore described and the latter shaft makes one-tenth of a revolution to every five hundred revolutions of the main shaft. Thus, the disks or the total register device are actuated successively in order that the total numher of miles the ve: hicle has traveled during apredetermined period may be readily ascertained. The Wheel of the trip register device being fast to the worm wheel 15 on the sh aft 8 and rotating with such Worm Wheel, enables the length. of the particular trip to he determined. By sliding the Wheel 1'? along the shaft against the action or the sprinp 18, the pin 22 may he disengaged froin the respective depression or recess 21 and the wheel rotated manually so that the trip register device may be reset.

"While i: have herein. shown and described .precise details of construction herein described and delineated, as modification and variation may be made within the scope of the claims Without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. A speedometer comprising a main shaft adapted to be driven from a vehicle wheel, a speed indicating device comprising a disk, a collar fixed to said shaft, arms radiating fromsaid collar at diametrically opposite points, bell crank levers each pivoted at its bight to one of said arms, a sleeve on said shaft and adapted for sliding movement thereon and havin one end thereof formed with a groove designed to receive the free extremities of the inner limbs of said bell crank levers, weights carried by the free ends of the outer limbs of said levers and responsive to the action of centrifugal force to slide the sleeve along the shaft, a lever fulcrumed at one end, a rack bar pivoted to the free end of said lever, a pinion fixed to said disk and meshing with said rack bar, and a connection between said sleeve and lover whereby the disk will be rotated in the movement of the sleeve along the shaft and through an angle cor're'spondmg to the speed of the shaft.

. 2. Aspeedometer comprising a main shaft adapted to be driven from a vehicle wheel,

a speed indicating device comprising a disk,

' a collar iixed to saidshaft, arms radiating from said collar at diametrically opposite points',-'bell crank-levers each pivoted at its bight to one of said arms, a sleeve on said shaft and adapted for sliding movement thereon and having one end thereof formed with a groove designed to receive the free extremities of the inner limbs of saidbell crank levers, weights carried by the free ends of the outer limbs of said levers and responsive to the action of centrifugal force to slide the sleeve along the shaft, and connections between said sleeve and disk where by the latter will be, rotated in the movement of the sleeve along the shaft and through an angle corresponding to the speed of the shaft.

3. A speedometer comprising a main shaft adapted to be driven from a vehicle wheel, a speed indicating device comprising a disk, a collar fixed to said shaft, a governor car-. ried by said collar and responsive to the action of centrifugal force, a sleeve mounted on said shaft and capable of sliding movement thereon, a connection between said governor and sleeve, a lever fulcrumed at one end, a rack bar pivoted to the free end of said lever, a pinion fixed to said disk and meshing'with saidlrack bar, and a connection between said sleeve and lever whereby the disk will be rotated in the movement of the sleeve along the shaft and through an angle corresponding to the speed of the shaft.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

v JAMES WHITCOMB. 

